i love so much of what perkins does and yet i come away from all his movies wishing i liked them like 20% more than i did.
he’s so in control of everything visual, of how it communicates mood, emotions, vibes. and yet when it comes to the textual parts, storytelling
mechanics, articulating themes, characters, it never quite gets there. i wish he’d shed the horror blockbuster stories and make a plotless mood piece
thought i’d see this and hit everyone with the classic “they don’t make ‘em like this anymore bring back the grisham 90s courtroom thriller.” but then i saw this and was blown away by the human drama on display.
this wasn’t much of a thriller, more of a slow burn morality play about the limits of human empathy, the inadequacies of the justice system, and the question of what do we owe our fellow human beings. every character (at least…
hoo boy, it’s been a while since i left a film this TILTED. but also perhaps it’s not for the reasons you’d assume!
look, i did not go into this expecting a nuanced and in-depth examination of the eighty year conflict in the middle east. i did not, in fact, want to see a lot of politics at all! i wanted a spotlight (2015) style journalism procedural and lucky me, that’s what this movie provides
the problem came about 10…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
at intermission, i was convinced the building was never getting built. seemed like the point! america cooked, promises unfulfilled. the movie literally starts with a shot of the statue of liberty upside down.
instead, the knotty, disturbing, frequently frustrating second half shows you what it takes to see your vision through. is it worth it? the movie isn’t sure!
all the stuff that could be hand waved away as obnoxious letterbox affectations (vistavision! 70mm! intermission!) are actually part of the…
